Wendy Pollack, Women’s Law & Policy Initiative Director, has been recognized by the Chicago Bar Foundation and the Chicago Foundation for Women for her work to improve the lives of women and girls.
July 22, 2020
The Shriver Center on Poverty Law is pleased to announce Wendy Pollack, Women’s Law & Policy Initiative Director, is the 2020 recipient of the Chicago Bar Foundation’s Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award, a premier public recognition for long-time legal aid and public interest law attorneys in the Chicago community.
Pollack has also been recognized as an Honoree for the Chicago Foundation for Women’s 2020 Impact Awards, honoring local leaders’ commitment to improving the lives of women and girls in the Chicago region.
Pollack began her career as a union carpenter. She was a founding member of Chicago Women Carpenters, which later evolved into Chicago Women in Trades, a nonprofit supporting economic equity for women working in high-skill blue collar occupations. Following law school, Pollack worked at the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago (now Legal Aid Chicago) on welfare-to-work issues. At the Shriver Center, she had continued to fight for the rights of women and girls while focusing on workforce development, education, employment, and other issues.
Last year, Pollack drafted, negotiated, and successfully advocated for several pieces of legislation at the state and local levels, including legislation that will strengthen the Equal Pay Act in Illinois by prohibiting employers from asking job applicants about their previous salaries. She also championed the Fair Workweek Ordinance in Chicago and advocated for the elimination of the tipped subminimum wage.
She has worked extensively on public benefits and work supports, workforce and economic development, education, employment, family law, violence against women and girls, gender equity in schools, and other issues, on the local, state, and federal level.
Learn more about Wendy and read some of her recent blog posts below:
Working People Shouldn’t Have to Rely on Tips for a Living
67 East Madison Street, Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 60603
phone: 312.263.3830
